FE4 Speed Run- AAAA Rank

[MageInTraining]

So, I've been thinking about doing this for awhile, and am going to do it after my substitute playthrough. Now, in order to obtain an AAAA Rank, you need:

-To beat the game in less then 399 turns.

-Less then 3 Battle Losses(Death)

-No dead characters

-1000+ Levelups.

Now, I will evaluate each one..enemy castles

-399 Turns in a 12 Chapter game rounds to about 32 turns per chapter. Granted, this is just an average figure; The prologue will not take me 32 turns, nor will some of the easier chapters. However, there are a few I fear may need more turns. Specifically Chapter 5(The deserts hinderance will slow everyone down), Chapter 1s last stand(The forest is a hinderance on movement..) and perhaps Chapter 10(Due to the situation with Julius and Ishtar, and how to preferred way to get them to leave is to Berserk an enemy unit near them). The prologue is easy kickin, Chapter 2 is a big rush chapter(Though, the whole castle with Lachesis personally bothers me because I always take my time to slowly kill everything), Chapter 3 and 4 are easy, Chapter 6 on is easy too. Overall if I keep at a well rounded pace I should be fine, but any comments would be appreciated.

-Less then 3 Battle Losses. I don't see this being a problem..I usually use savestates, but would this be considered cheating? The only rare time that i've left someone dead is when Sylvia whores herself out to Levin and I am forced to kill her to get Levin x Tiltyu, and then am too lazy to revive her. This won't happen this play, though.

-No death. Easy. As stated above, the only time I have ever left someone dead is Sylvia(Because her subs are better, and she ends up falling in love with Levin).

-1000 Levelsups. Oh joy. There are a possible 1052 levelups in the game, assuming you pair everyone. This will fluctuate slightly, because I will choose Laylea and Sharlow over Leen and Corple. Now this is where it gets annoying. The 1052 figure is assuming every unit leveled up to level 30 from their base level. Clearly, this isn't going to happen. Diadora most certainly most cap, and I usually have Cuan and Ethlin only level 20 upon their leave. By endgame, I also have my first gen units around level 25~, so it's going to be a tough break. I can easily get everyone from second gen to cap, no issues at all. Maybe Julia won't hit 30(She usually promotes upon being kidnapped, however), but everyone else is set. I know to pass the Elite ring around like mad, however I usually let my thieves have it(Dew especially, because he has a hard time keeping up at the start), and Patty makes well use with it, because she does hit pretty hard with Briggid x Holyn.

Now, for pairings:

Azel x Lachesis

Beowolf x Eden

Sylvia unpaired

Levin x Tiltyu*

Fury x Claude*

Aira x Jamuka

Holyn x Briggid

The two stars are representative of what I see can be a problem. Usually Levin x Tiltyu requires a large amount of time together in Chapters 4 and 5, because it's impossible for them to get too much time together in 3. Sylvia also typically will fall in love with Levin if not careful. The thing is, if I am rushing in this upcoming playthrough, how will I make the two fall in love? I believe having Holsety at my disposal in Chapter 6 will make this speed run much easier, and make Tinny a much better unit. However, I fear that time will run out and they will not fall in love. I can have Claude x Fury by endgame, because I always fly Fury out to help Claude, Tiltyu and Briggid with the Brigand situation, and they spend some minor time together. However, if Levin x Tiltyu is too pressed, I may have to pair Fury and Levin together. :/ Everything else is easy. Briggid x Holyn results in a fighter Patty, and Faval with his highest HP growth. Beowolf x Eden results in a powerful Lester and Rana who can hold her own. Aira x Jamuka grants the kids more powerful skills, which fit their class, like Charge and Continue. Azel x Lachesis makes Beowolf capable of using the Wind sword well in the second generation, and Nanna with her highest magic growth.

There are a few questions I have:

Let's say in Chapter 6 for example, I recruit Johan and Johaveliers castle remains enemy, because I am now moving south to re-claim Johans castle. Do I have to reclaim Johaveliers castle, or will it affect my rank if I don't? This also applies to Chapter 7 when Lenster falls. In short, does leaving an un-needed castle as an enemy castle affect rank? I know when you let a player controlled castle fall, you rank drops severely.

(Also, random note: I am aware of the Battle Glitch issue in Final. Narga will probably kill Julius)

I had a few other question, but they slipped my mind. Will post them when I remember them.

Edited July 29, 2009 by MageInTraining

[cheetah7071]

You'll want to pair Lex with somebody. Having an extra two elites running around will be helpful. Consider killing off Tiltyu as well, for an extra elite on Linda.

Of course, I'm completely baffled as to how you could be not worried about the exp rank. I remember that I struggled in gen 1 to get everybody to 20, with reinforcement abuse, which destroys tactics.

[Mekkah]

You said a speed run...does this mean you're also going for fastest time and record it all? o.O I'd love to see it. There's some A rank videos on nicovideo, but fsr japanese players insist on leaving animations on even when it's way too goddamn tedious, so even if you weren't going for fastest time I would enjoy watching this.

Do not worry about pairings not being able to get completed, as you can always use Ch5 to put them together. I personally have no trouble ever getting Levin and Tiltyu together. Maybe you can put the jealousy system to use?

Your pairings are extremely whack though. Why use Beowulf with Aideen? That robs Lester of the crucial Hero Bow he'd have gotten from Midir. Even Azel is better for Aideen, as this way you can abuse the Rescue staff (Lana won't be able to use it off the bat though, so Claude is better). Lex _must_ be with someone in order to fulfill the EXP requirement, I would recommend him with Ayra, or alternatively Brigid (makes Patty so much easier to raise...I take it you're aware of the Ambush/Sleep Sword technique in arena?). I would also recommend pairing Sylvia, perhaps with Ardan or whoever. You won't be able to put Charisma to much use in a ranked/speed run, but at least Sylvia allows Leen to inherit Prayer, which can also be abused for maxing out the arena. If you need the method to this (I posted this before), let me know.

[Togieduo]

If you're really going for a speed run, I'd recommend against using odd pairings. Stick with the predestined ones, such as Aideen x Midayle, Ayra x Holyn/Lex, etc. The conversations will boost their love points and make them fall in love much easier. That way you don't have to worry about some of the women not falling in love on time. It'll also be easier on you in terms of item inheritage. Lester with a Hero Bow will have a much easier time holding up in chapter 6 than with his standard Iron Bow.

Though I can see Bridget x Holyn happening because of one major reason: Patty will start out with a B rank in swords, making it much easier to level her up. With the Hero Sword she will be a much better fighter than with many of the C-ranked swords.

[Aitherion]

Consider killing off Tiltyu as well, for an extra elite on Linda.

Oh god this brings back bad memories in my head.

And I believe that using savestates usually brings it from "speed run" to "tool-assisted speed run", so yeah, it's probably cheating.

[Marthur]

-1000 Levelsups. Oh joy. There are a possible 1052 levelups in the game

1174.

[Agro]

Just as a mini-tip, you can give Ethlin's Light Sword to Dew which will make his kills much easier.

As for save-states, I'm not so sure. You can save at the start of each chapter, so it's almost like a faster version of that, but I would use it for simplicity.

[cheetah7071]

Well, savestates cheapen the combat rating. To max it without savestates, you have to predict that a unit may die and then not play the enemy phase, and just restart beforehand. With savestates, you can wait till after they die.